COMMENTARY ON THE LITURGY OF THE SUNDAY OF SESSAGESIMA
OR SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE LENT
Antiphon (Introit)
Exurge, quare obdormis Domine? Exurge, et ne repellas in finem: quare faciem tuam avertis, oblivisceris tribulationem nostram? Adhaesit in terra venter noster: exurge, Domine, adjuva nos, et libera nos.
Get up, why do you sleep, Lord? Wake up and do not reject us forever, why do you turn your face and do not care about our tribulation? We are prostrate in the dust, arise, O Lord, come to our aid and deliver us.
Collect
O Lord God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings
2 Cor 11:19-31; Lc 8:4-15
Comment
The seed of the Scriptures remains fruitless if it is not sown in our heart, and the latter remains sterile if it does not receive the Word that gives life. God speaks by addressing man, and human existence finds full meaning in the fruitful listening to the word of God.
The parable of the sower teaches us that successful sowing depends on the nature and consistency of the soil. If we do not believe, our listening remains purely at the ear level. The seed of the Word does not generate salvation if it does not meet our faith. As the seed that falls along the road is trampled on, he who listens absently to the word of God despises it. As the seed that falls on stone and after sprouting withers, so those whose faith is weak succumb to the seductions and disapproval of the world.
While in the version of the parable reported by Matthew and Mark the seed produces more or less abundant crops, here it yields "a hundred times more" by virtue of perseverance. This term (Gr. Hypomonè) never appears in the other Gospels, while it is frequent in Paul's letters and indicates the ability to resist, courage and patience, especially in trials.
The Lord is not satisfied with an abundant harvest, he wants us to give our best, and this is possible only if we remain in Christ and he in us (Jn 15:4). We must not be afraid if we do not see immediate fruit in our path of spiritual growth. A seed that germinates prematurely has not been sown in good soil and is being cut down by the inclement weather of winter. But the Word that penetrates into the depths of our being - those depths that remain obscure to our own conscience - fertilizing them and being slowly assimilated, bears fruit in the right season, in the spring of grace.
"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him." (1 Thess 5:9-10). What must we do, then, for the Word sown in us to make the hundredfold? Listening with a humble heart, like a soft and well-tilled earth. Listening and guarding, like Mary who "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Lk 2:19).
In the long days of rain, wind, cold, which separate the sowing from the harvest, we do not lose hope, aware that "neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow" (1 Cor 3:7).
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
